Box-band tightener



Sept. 2 1924. 1,507,164

w. A. ENGELHARD BOX BAND TIGHTENER Filed Aug. 1, 1923 l a tented Sept. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM A. ENGELHARD, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB or ONE HALF TO FREDERICK H. ENGELHARD, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. I

BOX-BAN D TIGI-ITENER.

Application filed August 1, 1923. Serial No. 655,603.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. ENGEL- HARD, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Box-Band Tightener, of which the follow edge thereof, and being provided with handle which is angularly disposed relative thereto, and a peculiar latch or button pivotally connected with said head, all as here-c inafter set forth.

In applying the metallic binder strips or hands to wooden packing and shipping containers or boxes it is necessary, after nail-- ing the leading end of such a band to the box, to carry such band around said box, with its cover, on the outside to the starting point, and while doing so to stretch the band very tightly and nail it at intervals to the body and cover of the box. Much difliculty has heretofore been experienced in drawing the band so tight that, when said band is finally nailed to the box on all four sides, it shall be even and taut at every point, especially when this work has been done entirely by hand or without the aid of an implement, and the primary object of my invention is to produce a strong, durable, simple, and inexpensive implement wherewith to draw the band with suflicient or the required force into place on each side of the box and hold the same under the same force during the nailing operation.

Generally bands are applied to boxes adjacent to both ends thereof and in some cases at one or more intermediate points.

Another object is to produce an implement or tightener of this character which is convenient to use and therefore facilitates and expedites the application of the bands to boxes, and with which one man is enabled to band boxes where heretofore the services of two men have been required.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

I attain the objects and secure the advantages of my invention by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a boxband tightener which embodies a practical form of my invention; F i 2, an isometric view of said tightener and a box illustrating the manner of using the former while in the act of stretching and holding in place a band on preparatory to nailing the same to said box, and, Fig. 3, a front elevation of the head of the tightener, the handle being broken off. I

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In Fig. 2, a packing or shipping box is represented at l, and two metallic bands are represented at 2, the band at the further end of said box having been completely nailed thereto, while the other band is in the act of being applied to the box. The cover of the box 1 is represented at 3, and is, of course, really a part of the box.

The tightener comprises a head 4 in which is a slot 5, an integral handle 6, and a latch or button 7 pivotally attached to or connected with said head at 8. The button 7 extends further beyond the pivot 8 in one direction than in the other, and the longer portion or arm of said button may be termed a handle. The shorter portion or arm of the button 7 is the band-engaging part, and the same is cut away or chamfered as repre sented at 9.

The head 4 is a flat member which is substantially rectangular in shape, and said head is positioned at an obtuse angle with its handle 6. The free end of the head 4 is at right-angles to the sides and edges of said head, consequently a reasonably sharp, gripping edge 10 is afiorded where the back side and the bottom of the head join. It is desirable that the gripping edge '10 or its equivalent be provided, because it is such edge that is fulcrumed on the vertical side of the box that is nearer the workman during the stretching or tightening operation. The head 4 superficially might be differently shaped, but should not be without the gripping edge 10 or its equivalent. M

The slot 5 extends into the head 4 from one edge thereof and at right-angle s'to such head, andsaidislot inclines from the, rear end forwardly and downwardly,- thus producing of the top of said slot/with the front side of said head. The slot 5 provides a tortuous course -for the band2 when inserted thereon, whereby two abrupt or distinct bends are produced in said band, and must be wide enough to receive the band freely, or, in other words, a little wider than the thickness of the band.

The button? is so located by its pivot 8 that, when positioned horizontally with its long armor handle projecting beyond the head 4,-the short arm of said button is approximately in line with or a little above the gripping edge 12. The chamfer 9 is located in or on the upper part of the short arm of the button 7, when said button is disposed with said arm in line with the gripping edge 12, and is formed by beveling the then top edge of said arm from the front side'of-"said arm downwardly and rearwardly. The chamfer 9 extends inwardly'i'rom the'free end of the short arm of the button 7 and is approximately of'the same length asthej gripping edge 12.-- I

1A washer 13, .or equivalent member, is mounted on the pivot 8 between the head e *and the button 7 tolocate the latter at a dis tancefrom said head, which distance is ap-' proximately equalto the width of the slot 5, or, in any event, sufficient to permit the band 2 to be received between said head and said button.

While the button? is disposed as shown.

in full lines in Fig, 3, the band 2 is slipped into the slotfiin'fth head d'and bent upwardly on the gripping edge 12 in front ot said head, and then said button is partially rotated, in the direction ofthe associated arrow in Fig. 3, into an approximately horizontal position, with that portion of said band which is immediate-ly'adjacent to said gripping edge between said button and said head. The chamfer 9 engages theband 2 and facilitates the act of swinging the button -7- into place in front of said band and forcing the latter toward the head at and into locking position. It willnow be seen that the band 2 is bent overthe gripping edge lland'under the gripping edge 12, and carried 1' sharply or abruptly upwardly from said last-named edge'to be held between the "head 4 and the button ,7 The interlocking of'the band '2 with the head 4 in the manne'rl just described is' 10f such a nature that, if said head he fulcrumed on its gripping edge 10, suflicient pressure-can be applied to the handle 6.--t'o break said band before the same will slip through the slot 5 one longitudinal edge thereof, as at 14t',"then said band is carried forward over'said" edge ,and,, th e tightener is slipped onto said bandand connected therewith, in the manner previously described, at a point where the gripping edge 10 can be applied to the near vertical side of said box, atthe proper height to draw said band downwardly ontothe uppermost side otthe-box,next-'downw ard pressure is-applied to the handle 6 to stretch the band firmly into place on saiduppermost side, and, finally, while the band is thus held, the .reach thereof which extends across 'sald uppermost side is nailedto the same.

At the end of this nailing operation the tightener is removed from the band, the-box is turned to present the nearvertical side uppermost, the 'tightener is-again applied to the band inpositionto stre'tch itacross the newly presented uppermost side, and the operations oftig-htening, holding, and naillng are repeated. Once more the tighteneris removed from the band, the'box is again uppermost, and thevariousoperations are repeated-.- At this time the parts and members are disposed substantially as shown in Fig. 2. Lastly the box is once more turned to present the'last near-vertical sideiuppersame fulcr'ums 0-n,'-'thegripping edge 10 against the near vertical sideofthebox, that downward pressure on the handle 6- causes the band 2 to be drawn across the now any amo'untof force desired,'fand that-- such turned to locate the last near vertical side top of the box (the cover 3' in this case) with;

force canibe maintainedwhile'the j-nails are being driven through said band into said box. Although theI-band-2, which-is being applied to the box 1 in'F-ig.-2, is brokenofi at the right of the head 4:, actually such band wouldbe of suflicient length to extend across to the fronjtof the box. 7

Each time that the tightener-is disconnected'froin the band 2 the button 7 is swung on its pivot 8 from the broken line position to the full line position-in Fig; 3, thus disengaging the band 2 and enabling the head 4 to be Withdrawn therefrom.

My v H The width of theband 2 and the depth of 5 the slot 5 are approximately the same, "and" the width ofthe button 7 is approximately equal to the distance betweenthe inner side of said slot andthe longitudinal edge ofthe head i which is opposite to the longitudinal edge of said head through which said slot opens.

In many cases the band, after having one end fastened to the box, is passed all the way around the box' before the implement is applied to said band, and then said implement is applied and said band is tightened, after which the band is nailed to the four sides of the box. In a case of this kind, one application of the implement to the band and one tightening operation are all that are required.

More or less change in the shape, size, con struction, and arrangement of some or all of the parts of this implement, in addition to that hereinbefore specifically pointed out, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or exceeding the scope of what is claimed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A box-band tightener comprising a head having a slot which opens through both sides and one edge thereof and is adapted to receive a band, said head being provided with a handle, and means to hold that portion of said band which is immediately adjacent to the front end of said slot against the front of said head above said slot, with an abrupt bend in the band.

2. A boxband tightener comprising a head having a slot which opens through both sides and one edge thereof and is adapted to receive a band, said head being provided with a handle, and a button offset from and pivotally connected with said head and adapted to receive between it and the front side of said head a portion of said band.

3. A box-band tightener comprising a head having an oblique slot opening through both sides and one edge thereof, said head being provided with a handle, and a button offset from and pivotally connected with said head above the front end of said slot,

and adapted to receive between it and the front side of said head a portion of said band after the latter emerges from the slot and is bent upwardly.

4. A box-band tightener comprising a head slotted to form back and front bandgripping edges, the front edge being lower than the back edge, said head being provided with a handle, and a button pivotally connected with said head and adapted to receive between it and said head, above said front edge, a portion of said band.

5. A box-band tightener comprising a slotted head provided with a handle, and a button pivotally connected with said head in position to engage a band adjacent to the point where it emerges from the front end of the slot, said button being chamfered to facilitate such engagement.

6. A box-band tightener comprising a head having an oblique slot opening through both sides and one edge thereof, said head being provided with a handle, and a button pivotally connected with said head and adapted to engage that portion of a band which is adjacent to the point where it emerges from the front end of said slot, said button being chamfered to facilitate such engagement.

7. The combination, in a box-band tightener, with a head slotted to form band-gripping edges on the front and back, the front edge being lower than the rear edge, and having at its free end a gripping edge and at the other end a handle, of a button pivotally connected with said head in position to engage a band above said gripping edge WILLIAM A. ENGELHARD.

Witnesses:

HAZEL E. Osooon, HARRY A. SQUIRE. 

